COVID-19: Journo under quarantine complain of poor management

Jitpur The managerial skill of the local government in Kapilbastu district is visibly poor for the control and prevention of COVID-19.

Two journalists in the district are obliged to stay in the quarantines of their media houses as the concerned local governments paid no heed for long even after they tested positive for coronavirus. Nine individuals are infected with the virus in the district.

Of the two media persons, one is 24-year-old male from Banganga Municipality-11 working for ‘Buddha Awaj’, community radio and television run by Kapilbastu Media Cooperatives. The next is 29-year-old male working for ‘Kapilbastu Darpan’ and ‘Ujjyalo Post’ from Kapilbastu Municipality-3.

Four others are from Banganga Municipality and three from Mayadevi Rural Municipality.

The 29-year-old media person said that no one from the local government has visited till seven hours after the confirmation of the virus and their pleas for contact tracing were not heard adding that there was no feeling of the presence of local government.

The COVID-19 infected technical staff of the Buddha Awaj television channel also has similar grievances. He said that nobody has inquired about him for six hours after being confirmed of contracting the virus.

Quarantine facility has been set up in the conference hall of the television channel’s office for those coming in contact with COVID-19 infected one, informed Budda Awaj’s Manager Bheshraj Pandey.

While the whole world is reeling under COVID-19 crisis including Nepal and although the health crisis has hit Nepal, the media persons are working relentlessly to keep the people informed.

Those journalists who were working in the forefront to collect the information and disseminate it to wider audiences are equally prone to the infection.

Despite these, the suspected journalists currently in isolation have been continuing their work from quarantine and have to continue with their work, informed Pandey.

Federation of Nepali Journalists Kapilbastu Chapter President Dilliram Bhusal said although there were quarantine facilities in all 10 local units in the district, they were not so well-managed. He demanded with the concerned authorities to conduct COVID-19 tests on 8 journalists who had come in contact with the infected journalists.

Currently 8 suspected journalists are staying in isolation facility set up in the television channel’s office. Among them, five work in the news section while three were technicians.

Another 8 persons who came in contact with the infected journalists have built quarantine facility themselves and said that they will continue their work from there.

While they pledge to continue keeping public informed amid such a health crisis and despite the inconvenience, ironically they themselves are unaware when will they get tested and how will they be treated.